Pocari Sweat
Pocari Sweat is a very popular Japanese drink. If you have been anywhere near Japan (it has become more of an international commodity now days) then you would have seen it's vibrant blue label in either can or bottle form. It can be found in any convenience store and you can see it in many of the vending machines around Japan.
The most notable thing about it, for native English speakers is its amusing name. Especially for a re-hydrating sports drink. I don't know of anyone who would want to have a refreshing drink of sweat. So a drink with sweat in its name conjures up some negative connotations. Such as warm, sticky and salty. It doesn't help that it has a light cloudy colour either.
Don't judge a book by its cover however. This is a must try drink and is very popular. It has been said to taste like a subtly sweet grapefruit. The way I would describe it is as a sweet watery flavour with slight hints of citrus. It's very good at refreshing and re-hydrating on a hot day out sightseeing in Tokyo.
According to wikipedia the 'Pocari' part of the name means nothing. And judging by the 'c' character and that it is written in English, I doubt it's even a Japanese word. Apparently it just sounds nice so they just shunted it on the front of 'Sweat'.
The 'Sweat' part of the name does have a purpose though. And it isn't to describe its flavour or its cloudy appearance. According to the wiki it is because it is a sports drink made to replenish the electrolytes lost while sweating :D of course.
At the end of the day it is a very nice tasting drink that is insanely popular. With the added bonus that it has a funny name. If you see it around, don't be afraid to try it. If you are not in Japan try to find a local Asian supermarket, many of the ones I have come across do stock this delicacy.
Calpis
While Pocari Sweat was the first unusual Japanese drink that popped into my mind to fit into this months Japan Blog Matsuri theme, there is another good candidate. And that is Calpis.
In a similar vein to the above the name sounds far too similar to 'Cow Piss' to not be hilarious and slightly disturbing. Especially because of its cloudy milky colour. Again, according to the wikipedia, this is not just my interpretation but such a common problem that they changed the name to 'Calpico' for English speaking markets.
Reading further into its history it seems it had quite the politically incorrect logo in a past life which is was forced to change. Hilarious.
And again, I highly recommend trying Calpis at least once. It is very similar in flavour to Pocari Sweat just without the sports drink bend.
Enjoy!
can they be bought on line?
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